Samsung Galaxy Lollipop Release: 5 Key Details Emerge

A flurry of new Samsung Galaxy Lollipop release details emerged today including new information about the Galaxy S6 Android 5.1.1 release, the unreleased Galaxy Note 2 Lollipop update, and some Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy S5 Lollipop update details for users in the United States.

In December, Samsung started rolling out Android Lollipop and its features to the Galaxy S5. Since then, the company’s made a huge Lollipop push to other flagships like the Galaxy Note 4 and to lesser known devices like the Galaxy Alpha. The company’s Lollipop upgrade continues to push out at a rapid pace though it has grown more complicated with time.

As we push into the summer, Samsung’s begun rolling out yet another version of Lollipop dubbed Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. Android 5.1.1 isn’t rolling out to everyone. Instead, Samsung’s been very selective about the devices getting the new update and its collection of bug fixes.

This mirrors what Samsung has done with Lollipop as a whole. Instead of pushing out Lollipop to every device, it has limited it to its most recent devices, something that left owners of older devices frustrated as we push into the summer. Samsung’s Galaxy Lollipop release is massive with a lot of moving parts and its been extremely confusing for many users.

Despite this, Samsung’s Lollipop roll out continues and today we’ve picked up on a number of key details that should interest potential Android 5.1.1 users and owners of two older Galaxy devices that have been on the lookout for their first update to Lollipop.

Galaxy Note 2 Lollipop Update

There’s been a lot of back and forth regarding the unreleased Galaxy Note 2 Lollipop update. We’ve seen some regional Samsung arms confirm plans to release a Galaxy Note 2 update. We’ve also seen credible sites confirm Samsung’s plans to release the software to the aging former flagship.

Samsung has yet to confirm one way or the other but at least one major region may not get the update even if Samsung does decide to roll the update out in the future.

According to a widely circulated tweet from Samsung UK, the Galaxy Note 2 Lollipop update won’t be rolling out to devices in the United Kingdom. We’ve seen regional wings of Samsung get it wrong before but at this point, if we owned a Galaxy Note 2 in the UK, we’d be tempering our expectations.

We do own Galaxy Note 2 models in the United States and we’re still not convinced anything will ever roll out at this point. The Galaxy Note 2 is nearly three years old and U.S. carriers typically don’t offer much to Android phones beyond the two year mark. Anything is possible but we’re not optimistic.

As it stands, we have no firm information about the Galaxy Note 2 Lollipop release date and we’d keep expectations tempered as we push deeper into the year towards an Android M update.

Galaxy S3 Lollipop Update

If you’ve been holding out hope for a Samsung Galaxy S3 Lollipop update, and you live in the United Kingdom, you can exhale.

In the same breath, Samsung UK’s Twitter operator also told users that the Lollipop update won’t be coming to the Galaxy S3 in the United Kingdom. Not that this is surprising.

We never expected the Lollipop update to hit the Galaxy S3 in the United States or anywhere else and this appears to be a death knell to end all death knells.

New Galaxy S6 Android 5.1.1 Update Details

Now for the good news. The Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Android 5.1.1 updates continue to make progress. While they’ve stalled in the United States, they have been making progress in other parts of the world.

According to Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge users in the Netherlands, the Android 5.1.1 updates have both arrived there for the unbranded versions of the phones. Carrier models still haven’t received the update though that could change soon as the update starts to pick up the pace in Europe.

The updates appear to be similar to the ones that recently rolled out in the United States. They include bug fixes and some changes to the camera application. These aren’t the only Galaxy S6 Android 5.1.1 updates rolling out.

SamMobile claims that the Galaxy S6 Duos Android 5.1.1 update is now hitting users in Dubai. The device, which isn’t available in the United States, should see its Android 5.1.1 update start to spread soon.

The important thing here is that the Android 5.1.1 update is starting to make substantial progress and it should only be a matter of time before it hits another Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge variant somewhere else.

New Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop Update

Sprint’s one of the carrier’s that’s pushed out Android 5.1.1 updates for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. And while many were expecting the next updates for its Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy S5 to be Android 5.1.1, that isn’t the case.

Today, the carrier confirmed a new Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop update though the update is small and it doesn’t appear to be Android 5.1.1. Instead of a healthy list of bug fixes, this update comes with “Reactivation Lock updates” and nothing more. From what we’ve heard, the update is about 150MB.

We’re fairly confident that a Galaxy Note 4 Android 5.1.1 update is on the way but it’s not clear if the United States will be included in Samsung’s plans.

New Galaxy S5 Lollipop Update

Sprint’s also rolling out a Galaxy S5 update that’s around 300MB in size. Like the Galaxy Note 4 update, the only thing listed in the change log is “Reactivation Lock updates.”

The Galaxy S5 Android 5.1.1 release is currently limited to T-Mobile in the United States but it’s clear that other carriers plan to upgrade the Galaxy S5 with Android 5.1.1 before the Android M push. It’s not clear if Sprint and other U.S. carriers will be on the Android 5.1.1 list for the Galaxy S5.